Chance and Change
by todaytomorrow
Summary: Hermione Granger survived the Final Battle, losing her closest friend, and even the death of her parents, but what was most challenging was her stagnating career. A chance encounter changes everything and her life only gets more complicated. Read/Review!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One:

"Okay, for all of you like myself who are muggleborn, or for safe measures, have any muggle relatives, levitate the book from its place to a hard surface. The best surfaces are stone surfaces, though I've had reasonable success with metal surfaces too." She looked around to make sure that everyone was paying close attention. _Well, at least there isn't anyone sleeping_, she thought with an internal sigh.

"I've devised the charm by combining a simple repelling and expelling charm along with a more complicated revision charm to change the original spell placed on the object. The anti-muggle hexes are too difficult to remove, therefore it is easiest to simply modify the spell so that the effect is neutralized." The group was looking at her disinterestedly. This was perhaps the worst part of her job.

"Why don't we just use the spells we've been using on other dark objects?" The man sitting directly in front of her asked with a smirk. He looked like the handsome sort who had a penchant for hooking up with coworkers and talking about it during his morning coffee breaks.

"Well, if the spells used on dark objects are used on books, the material inside it is destroyed." _Apparently nobody paid attention when they were hired. _"As our mission here is to preserve books, that would be highly inefficient." She looked again around the room to see if there were any more questions. She was seriously beginning to doubt the initial plan to recover the anti-muggle texts.

"Okay, well. I am going to demonstrate the wand work for you. Its rather similar to the expelling charm," she waved her wand in a circular motion one hundred eighty degrees and then jabbed her wand forward sharply, "along with the motions you say 'Expellio Modificus' non-verbally. If you say it verbally it will destroy the book, so please don't-"

"Thank you, Hermione", she heard the familiar drawl of her platinum haired friend as he walked casually into the somewhat cramped meeting room, "now that you've explained that, I've a few important announcements to make." She watched him with amusement as he paced around the room making everyone feel uncomfortable. "First off, we'll begin the process of going through the Lestrange library in roughly a week. By that time, you should have this charm mastered."

"I've created some books that you may test as well as visual aids to help with the wand work for those who might not have learned-"

"Yes, Yes. But the point is that you will be conducting the raid with me, not Hermione, and you've been paid more than enough to do this correctly." He looked around at the people. Basically, he'd posted the listing as soon as Hermione had perfected the charm and had tested each individual ensuring that they had an excellent proficiency in charms, but none of them were Charm masters and the only basis for the hiring were their Charms abilities, so there were a fair share of idiots amongst the group. "That is all I have to say to you. You will receive an owl about the exact time and place for the final meeting before the raid. Hermione, anything else?"

"No, thank you." She looked around the group and noticed everyone shuffling their things together, impatient to leave. _One would think that they weren't being paid by the hour with how much they wanted to leave._

"Well, you are dismissed." Draco stood quietly while they waited for people to exit the room. Hermione took a seat at an empty chair and rested her legs on the table.

"So?"

"They pretty much appear to be completely dunderheaded," he drawled in his usual demeaning tones, "but what did you expect?"

"Mmm. I'm exhausted." She looked every bit the part. While her curly chestnut hair was carefully styled into a perfect chignon and her robes were pressed and absolutely wrinkle free, her eyes displayed the tiredness that was slowly overwhelming her.

"What have you been doing? You finished the charm for the Lestrange place two weeks ago and I haven't assigned anything else." He looked at her, imploring her to give him anything. It didn't escape anyone's notice that Hermione Granger had become impossible to read with age. Circumstances hadn't been fair to her for sure, but it was surprising just how quiet she had become.

"Researching for my next big project, as always. I've been gathering information for a efficiency charm of sorts. I don't know why though, because the more I look into it, the more it is looking like it will be a modified time travel charm, which the ministry would never really allow in the first place." She tapped her fingers against the table as Draco stared at her.

"Sounds like something you would do." He finally took a seat next to her and continued to watch as she dazed off into the room, lost in thought. "Are you okay?"

"Honestly?"

"No, actually, I would love for you to lie to me." He shook his head. "I'm concerned."

"I think I need a break from all of this. I need time to consider what I'm doing with my life and what that means." She placed her feet back onto the ground and stood up from her seat. "I've been having nightmares again. Every single one of them including my parents. Its not like they used to be either. They aren't just dead, they are judging me and what I'm doing with my life."

"Hermione," Draco stood next to her and placed his hand on her shoulder, "your parents would be proud of you no matter what you did with your life." She shrugged his hand away.

"I know. But it seems like a sign."

"Divination much?" He looked at her comically.

"No!" She shrugged her shoulders in defeat, "I don't know."

"Why don't you take a break. I'm going to be heading the raid on the Lestrange library and you don't have any other commitments right now, perhaps you should leave for a couple weeks and sort things out."

"I'd be deathly bored."

"I tell you what. You can stay at one of my flats in Paris. No charge."

"I haven't been to France in years…" she considered.

"It is a really great flat; overlooks the Eiffel Tower and really close to the downtown wizard scene." He tempted her. He'd always tried to get her to take a vacation, but she hadn't ever accepted the six years she had been working. There was always something pressing to prevent her from leaving. First it was her parents' tragic death while on their annual skiing vacation and the settling of financial affairs. When it wasn't that, she had a charity charms project for the ministry to work on. She had always been an overachiever in school, but now she was a downright workaholic.

"I'll think about it Draco." It was the closest she had ever come to accepting a vacation so far in the time she'd been working at Draco's firm.

"I'll even pay you to go on Vacation. I probably don't pay you as much as you could get elsewhere anyway."

"Ha," Hermione chuckled to herself. Draco had given her pay increase after pay increase. She never really understood why he felt the need to. She made more than she needed to afford the flat she had obtained in Muggle London and had plenty saved from a few extra-curricular projects. He probably knew that she used the excess she earned from this job to pay for the charity projects she did elsewhere.

"I think I'm going to head home now." She grabbed her bag and headed to the door.

"Are you free tomorrow evening?" He asked as she was pushing the door open.

"What do you have planned?"

"Ginny and I would love to have you for dinner."

"Of course."

"See you at seven?"

"Sure." He watched as she walked down the hallway to the front door. He always found it fascinating that she would walk home instead of apparating.

Hermione sunk into her comfy chair at last. It had been a relatively short day, but for the last few weeks, even the short days took forever. With a bottle of butterbeer and a good book, she finally allowed herself a little bit of relaxation.

Why had her life suddenly become so difficult? Nothing had changed in nearly two years, and yet everything suddenly felt wrong. Her parents had been dead for nearly four years now, and while it still hurt, it was no longer impossible for her to function. The time immediately after their death was impoosible and to deal with it, she had thrown herself into her work and shut everyone out of her life. Nobody could understand the way she felt except possibly one person.

Harry.

She hadn't seen Harry since two days after the final battle. He had been entirely overwhelmed with completing his task and defeating Voldemort that he had withdrawn completely from the world around him. It was apparent that something was wrong almost immediately. He didn't talk, but in single words. He didn't want to be touched. Everyone thought he was experiencing shellshock. But then Harry left. He didn't just leave. He had made it impossible to find him.

Hermione, Ron, Ginny and the Weasleys had been devastated. They worried to no end that a rogue death eater had captured him. The Auror department took the case very seriously. They investigated every avenue trying to discover his whereabouts. They had even questioned the barely surviving Severus Snape as to possible leads on death eaters. It wasn't until a month later that Hermione received her first letter.

'_Hermione,_

_I am obviously gone, but I am alive. Please call off the auror missions and allow them to get back to work on something more important. I do not wish to be found. _

_To ensure that you believe it is really I, it was the Gaunt ring that was found inside the snitch that Dumbledore gave me._

_Harry'_

Hermione had shown the letter to everyone she could. She had waited another month before she received yet another letter telling her in a very short missive that he was indeed alive and well. He never said anything about his whereabouts and he always sent his posts through muggle mail. Some of the mail had come from the States and some had come from Somalia. She worked to invent charms to track him, used Arithmancy to find any sort of pattern in his travels and used advanced potions to try to track the body oils on the paper he used. To no avail, he remained gone. It had been just over a decade.

As soon as the Final Battle was over, Hermione sat her NEWTs. She scored higher than any student in a century and had her choice of any field she wished. She decided to take an apprenticeship with Professor Flitwick in Charms. In all honesty, she had wanted more than anything to study Potions further, but as there was no possible way to persuade a man who was suffering from serious snake bite wounds and had hated her since he had met her, she chose the field she was second most fond of.

Flitwick was more than happy to take her and spending a few more years at Hogwarts had been the only thing keeping her going after Harry left. Ron understandably had been devastated by the loss of his best friend and never understood why he didn't receive messages. Hermione had told him it was most likely due to the fact that he sent mail through muggle post and not due to any favoritism, but Ron didn't take losing his best friend very well.

Ron decided to help his brother out with Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes. After a few years of that and acquiring lots of business skills later, he and Ginny had branched out on their own, establishing a rather successful clothing store. It catered to witches and wizards who wanted to dress in the muggle style, which was surprisingly popular after the fall of Voldemort. They made a fortune in their first year and bought their parents a mansion the next year. They established another store in Hogsmeade modeled after the Diagon Alley shop, but catered more to younger witches and wizards who attended Hogwarts.

It was a little funny to watch Ron, her quidditch obsessed friend, fussing around with different fabrics and ideas for the design of their clothing. A couple years after the war was over Ron finally came out of the closet. Ginny, who had fantasized about owning her own clothing store was surprised, to say the least, when her older brother began giving her style advice.

Everyone found his or her way after Voldemort had died. After the initial shock and grief felt by the magical world, people just knew what to do. They accepted it for what it was and moved on. Ginny had got over losing Harry and discovered a new and exciting relationship with Draco, whom she was now married to, Ron had discovered his niche among the design world, even Severus, who had taken a little over a year to recover, had decided to leave England, and from what Draco had told her and what she had read in Potions Journals, was making a comfortable and exciting living himself.

She felt like she stagnating. She wasn't doing what she felt she needed to do. She hadn't found anyone to be with, and she had tried. She even accepted a few blind dates that Parvati had set her up with and all had turned out dreadful. She hadn't met a wizard that could keep up a good conversation let alone do anything except for look at her chest. It had been nearly painful even trying to find someone and she seriously wished that the wizarding world had the equivalent of the muggle dating services.

But alas, she remained single, she worked herself to the bone, and she was usually able to ignore the feelings that were always threatening to invade her mind. She was usually able to ignore feeling alone or bored with what she was doing. But since she started having those dreams, she lost the ability to ignore the hopelessness that was consuming her. _Maybe I do need a true vacation. _


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two:

Hermione showed up at Malfoy Manor promptly. It was always a little frightening coming back to the Manor and for years, she had been absolutely unable to. Images of Bellatrix Lestrange would haunt her, and even to this day, she could not enter the room where she was tortured.

Draco Malfoy had changed significantly from before the war. He was always a bit of a jerk; he pretended to hate everything muggle with the same passion his father did and had the same arrogance too. When his father was murdered by death eater crossfire after Voldemort had went down and his mother had decided to run away to Greece to escape persecution by the Ministry, Draco had stayed to be tried by wizarding courts.

He didn't get off completely easy. He had people to attest to his change of heart, but for having the dark mark, he was given just over two years of community service, which was typical for caught death eaters. After completing the community service, all of his assets were finally given back to him and with the power of owning many businesses that were once used for dark, he changed the goals of the companies and began to do good for the wizarding world.

Hermione had recognized this better than anyone else and had easily forgiven his bad deeds. She even took a position at the top of one of his firms as the lead Charms Mistress. He paid her well and gave her the freedom to basically do as she wished. Hermione was even the one who had convinced Ginny to go on a date with him. Now the two had been happily married for nearly four years.

She knocked at the heavy door and was greeted by an extremely excited Draco Malfoy.

"Hello, come on in."

"Hi, Draco. How have you been?" She followed him to the kitchen where Ginny was finishing up making dinner. Both could easily have asked house-elves to do it, but as Ginny had inherited her mothers' way with cooking, she rarely allowed house-elves to do it when guests were over.

"Ginny here has been driving me bat-shit insane over the new designs for the next clothing line. I'm sure you will hear about this at the next Weasley dinner as well. Apparently Ron has designed the latest line with you in mind."

"Me! I spend just about everyday is business black robes." Ginny was placing the food on a platter as Draco ushered her into the smallest dining room to have dinner. For being the smallest dining room in the manor, it could still seat twenty people.

"Apparently, and this is what he tells me, the muggle clothing you wore while at Hogwarts inspired it, but you were essentially his Muse."

"It's a really great line too, Hermione." Ginny levitated the platters onto the table and gestured for the three of them to begin. "Ron thinks it is his best."

Hermione placed some chicken and potatoes onto her plate and looked at Ginny skeptically. It wasn't the first time she had been an inspiration for one of the clothing lines at Ginny and Ron's shop, but that was mostly due to being their only muggleborn friend.

"Well, I'm sure the next line will also be his best, as they all are." Hermione smiled and dug into her food. It was delicious as always. Glancing around the table, she noticed the peculiar smiles Draco and Ginny were sharing with each other and was beginning to think they were plotting something.

"So, have you given more thought to Paris?" Draco asked in between bites.

"Draco took me to that particular flat for our second anniversary and it's magnificent. Really close to the fashion scene."

"Actually, I've decided that it would be a good idea." Draco looked across the table. He wasn't expecting her to agree to the vacation but he was pleasantly surprised that she did.

"Great! You should pack as soon as you get home and I'll pop over and make sure the staff and wards permit you."

"I was actually going to wait until Monday."

"For what reason?" Draco asked, a frown on his face.

"I don't know. Maybe I should just leave as soon as possible."

"I was thinking that you should maybe make it a longer vacation. I've been looking over my schedule and as far as the Charms firm goes, there isn't anything planned aside from the raid, which I will be running until the end of July."

"Oh, so you want me gone for a month?" Hermione scoffed. Nobody would pay for her to go on a month long vacation without some sort of ulterior motive.

"I don't see why it is a bad idea." He shrugged his shoulders and looked over at Ginny who looked at him skeptically with her eyes raised. "You've been having doubts. Go away, clear your mind, relax, and when you get back you'll know what to do."

He presented the idea as though it was the most logical thing in the world. Granted she didn't have any other responsibilities aside from her job at Draco's firm and she was pretty much by herself. Maybe she would even meet some French wizard who would romantically sweep her off her feet. She mentally rolled her eyes.

"A month? Really, you wouldn't mind?"

"Not at all." Hermione felt a little depressed that she wasn't needed by anyone before Draco caught the strange look in her eyes. "Hermione, it isn't as though we don't want you around or we don't need you."

"We just think you need a break." Ginny finished. "Besides, you will only be a pop away if we do need you, and an owl away, if you just want to keep up on communication."

"You're right. I'll pack when I get home then." Hermione still felt as though this was perhaps the most spontaneous thing she had done in years, despite the fact that she had been thinking on it for the last two days.

"Well, as you aren't going to be at the next Weasley dinner, perhaps we should tell you our good news." Draco said and she eyed them curiously.

"We're going to have a baby in December!" Ginny squealed excitedly.

"That's brilliant!" Hermione said brightly smiling at two of her closest friends. "I'm so excited for you. Are you sure you don't want me to stay and help you, Ginny?"

"Don't be silly. I'm not even showing yet and I won't be waddling for months. I absolutely refuse to let you stay!"

"Like Ginny would let you treat her like porcelain anyway." Draco smiled. He had discovered on more than one occasion the way Ginny reacted to over-coddling.

"Nope. I want you to go on your vacation and I will owl you when I discover if it is a boy or a girl."

"Great." Hermione smiled. She was genuinely happy for her two friends, but a certain part of her was also jealous. Pretty much all of her friends from Hogwarts were married and having children at this point and she was still single. Still alone.

The three of them finished up their meal, talking a little bit about what is going on in the Weasley family. Apparently Bill and Fleur's latest addition was a metamorphagus. Bill and Fleur's four children were all girls, all part veelas, and all part trouble. Their five year old twins were worse than Fred and George and their two year old was a seasoned summoner. It was always entertaining to hear what they were getting up to.

Molly was currently teaching every one of her four granddaughters while their parents were at work and had quite a bit of fun doing it too. In total she now had ten grandchildren. Percy and his wife Penelope had three boys ages two, three and five, Charlie and his wife had three children, two boys and a girl, but they lived in Romania with his wife's family and made the adventure home as a group only every holiday, as it was such a hassle. Molly would probably be very excited to learn her only daughter would be having a child soon. She had been pestering Ginny for years about not having enough grandchildren.

Hermione felt very much a part of the Weasley family, but there was also a part of her that also felt like an outsider due to the fact that she was neither related by blood and she was raised a muggle. She loved the Weasleys very much, but since she and Ron hadn't worked out, Molly treated her as the old maid that had turned her youngest son gay. Being around the Weasleys was also somewhat painful because of the letters she still received from Harry that they still hadn't. They felt that Harry abandoned them and she feared that they possibly even blamed her.

In all honestly, all she really need was the vacation to Paris. When dinner was finally over and she shared a glass of tea in the sitting room with Draco and Ginny, she apparated home and began to pack for the month long trip. She brought just about everything she owned, including the clothes she still hadn't even had a chance to try on from Ginny and Ron. There were years of styles she just didn't have the occasion to wear and Ron and Ginny gave her a copy of everything they ever made because she had loaned them start-up funds from the trust fund she inherited from her grandparents.

About an hour after she finished shrinking and placing her items into her small clutch purse did she receive the floo from Draco telling her that she was free to head out whenever she wished. Without second thought she flooed to the address Draco had written for her and landed with a thump in a very nicely decorated flat.

Across what she thought was probably the sitting room were windows that took up the entire wall and in the distance she saw the Eiffel Tower. _This flat must be worth millions_. She wandered down a gallery hallway that showcased many fine paintings to the kitchen. She loved the simplicity of the decor. Everything was clean lines and sleekness. The bright white and silvers added to the modern feel of the apartment without making it feel overly sterile.

Adjacent to the kitchen was a dining area much larger than anything she would ever need that had the same floor-to-ceiling windows as in the sitting room. From off of the dining room there was a spacious study that was filled with books, surprisingly muggle and wizard. Walking back through the apartment she found the masters suite and placed against the far wall was a bed that was much larger than anything she'd ever slept in before and thankfully, the floor-to-ceiling windows were covered in tasteful curtains.

The master bath was impossibly large with a bathtub as spectacular as the prefects' room. She had missed that particular perk since she had left Hogwarts and couldn't wait to make use of such a magnificent bathroom. She spent the first night in Paris unpacking her things and settling in.

At approximately midnight she had taken out the muggle Paris travel guide she had purchased many years ago when she had traveled there with her parents and looked through the many attractions that she could see. Before she knew it, she was fast asleep with the book resting on top of her and the lamp next to the bed still on.

* * *

She woke up to the sun shining through the curtains onto her face. She could already tell by the position of the sun that it was much later than she had slept in years. She was both an early riser and a workaholic, and getting less than five hours of sleep was the norm. She had definitely overslept.

Hopping out of bed was likely going to be the hardest part of the day. She noticed instantly the pain in her neck from falling asleep while reading and decided that she would need to take some pain reliever. Funny enough, she hadn't stopped using muggle acetaminophen in place of potions. Potions were too labor intensive and at least for the small pains, Tylenol worked just fine.

She walked into the bathroom intent on talking a luxurious bath, but at the last moment decided she'd rather shower now and bathe later. The first thing she would do in Paris is visit the wizarding markets where she would purchase food and maybe a book or twelve.

Hopping out of the oversized shower and pulling on the white terry-cotton robe she had brought with her, Hermione went to the closet to select her first outfit for her adventures in France. After some debating, she pulled on a yellow cotton sundress. After applying liberal amounts of hair serum to her wet hair to tame her wild curls, she cast a drying charm. Slipping on a pair of white ballet flats, she placed her wand in a small clutch and left the apartment for the first time.

Five floors down she exited the apartment building and noticed immediately the sign at the end of the corner advertising the existence of a wizarding market. She was sure that only magical people could see it. She walked into the small coffee shop and asked the owner to show her the way into the magical shopping district. He smiled and pointed to the women's restroom. Surprisingly, all Hermione had to do was enter through third stall and she was faced with a bright and booming magical community.

The shops were arranged in a similar way to Diagon Alley but they were noticeably more chic. They were very modern and all had huge open windows that presented to the public open and airy stores. Diagon Alley at best was cozy and worst, cramped. She headed over to the shop that had the massive collection of book first and spent the next two hours finding books that she would be reading over her break and that would help with working out the efficiency charm.

She went to the food market next and picked up all the things she would need to survive the week. She would be spending a few meals a week at local restaurants, but she wouldn't feel comfortable eating out alone every night. After she was finished and it was nearly time for dinner, she shrunk her belongings and cast freshness charms on the perishables and put them into her clutch.

She left the wizard market to go to a small café on the corner of the street from the flat. She ordered a soup and bread and ate while she perused the latest book she was reading. It was relaxing to be alone in a different place. It was nice to be someplace where she was required or expected to be anything. She was enjoying the peace and quiet when a handsome man with dark blue eyes approached her.

"Bonjour, Mademoiselle." He was athletically built with light brown shoulder length hair.

"Hello."

"Oh, you are not from around here?" He said, with a heavy French accent quite similar to Fleur's, even though hers had gotten much better since the Triwizard tournament.

"Oh, no. I am having a long holiday here." She smiled and gestured for him to have a seat across from her. He was attractive and French and could probably show her around the city; maybe even take her on a date.

"You are from England, yes?"

"London. Are you from Paris?"

"Indeed. I could show you around zee city." He was eyeing up the young woman across the table from him. She looked to be in her early twenties, around his age and she was attractive, intelligence shining in her eyes.

"Oh, really? That would be wonderful. What is your name again?"

"Oh, sorry. My name is Emile."

"Hermione." She shook his hand lightly.

"Zat eez a very beautiful name."

"Yes, my parents were eccentric Shakespeare fans." She smiled at the young man. He looked a little bit younger than she did, but perhaps he didn't think so.

"Are you busy tomorrow night? I would take you out right now, but I 'ave to work later."

"What is it you do?" She asked, curious to know what a young man who works in the evenings would do.

"I am a painter and I 'ave a model sitting for me later." Hermione smiled at him, starting mentally picturing the most comically romantic scenes of him painting pictures of her with candlelight and roses and everything cliché.

"That's fascinating. I used to paint with my mother. I am free tomorrow, by the way."

"Will you let me show you around zee city?" She smiled and nodded.

"I would love to see Paris from the eyes of a Parisian artist." He smirked at her and grabbed her hand lightly, placing a gentle kiss over her knuckles.

"Zen I shall see you. Meet me outside zis building at midi?"

"That would be lovely."

"Until then, 'ermione." She smiled as he bowed lightly and left the table. She picked up her book and left the restaurant, smiling. She hadn't been in Paris for twenty-four hours and she was already going on a date. She didn't know what was particularly special about her that would have such an attractive man confront her, but she wasn't complaining.

* * *

A/N: Please let me know if you have any suggestions for the story. I have it written quite a bit in advance. I hate to hold chapters hostage, but in order to get feedback, I'm not averse to it. Thanks for reading! ^_^


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three:

Hermione woke up later than she usually did again. After spending the previous night sipping wine and thinking about the handsome Frenchman who would be showing her around for the day, she was more than prepared to meet him again. Dressing in a shorter dress than she would normally wear in an ivory color and a pair of tall peep toed shoes, she left her flat for the meeting spot where she would meet Emile.

When she got there, there wasn't anyone in sight. After waiting for twenty minutes and not seeing any sign of him, Hermione began to get frustrated. She had even applied mascara today and taken care to put her hair up and she was going to get stood up. Right as she was about to leave and go back home to sulk and possibly take a long bath, the spotted Emile walking along the sidewalk with another girl would was dressed much more scantily than she.

He looked to be whispering something naughty into her ear judging by the way she was blushing and cackling. Hermione felt her face going red with anger at the nerve of this man, offering to take her out and never showing up, but instead of acting upon her anger, as she totally would have done in her youth, she walked away. She gathered herself as calmly as possible and walked back to her flat, intent upon enjoying her day.

When she entered the flat, she went straight to the library, picking up a quill and parchment and began to draft a letter to Ginny, explaining the last few days.

'Dear Ginny,

I'm currently in Paris, sitting around the flat in a beautiful ivory dress and stilettos, wearing more makeup than I have in ages, and thoroughly bummed. The apartment, however, is amazing and the weather is a bit warmer than in England as well.

Yesterday, I was asked out on a date, and today, said man showed me up. I also watched him walking down the street we agreed to meet at with another women. He has nerves of steel, I bet. Just my luck, though. I'll probably turn out exactly as your mother thinks, an old maid.

Don't worry about me though. I've decided to put the wonderful bathtub and selection of wine to good use. Let Draco know I said thanks. I'm sure before the end of my adventure here I will actually get to go on a date.

Love Hermione'

She brought the letter down to the front desk of the apartment and asked the man to send out the letter by owl. As Draco owned this entire building, Draco hired the staff and they were set to do simple wizarding tasks. Ginny, she was sure, would understand the situation better than most. Before Hermione had coerced Ginny to date Draco, she had the same issues Hermione did, along with a great deal of self-doubt due to Harry's abandonment of her. Ginny knew Hermione better than anyone else.

Hermione went back up to her flat, took a bath, and read the day away. And for the next two weeks, despite being intent upon meeting new people and exploring Paris, Hermione found herself enjoying the solitude of her apartment, leaving only to go out for the occasional lunch, and always staying far away from the place she met Emile.

Ginny had paid her a visit a day or so after she had sent the owl and allowed Hermione to vent a little bit over the annoyingness of being stood up and sharing tales of awful dates. Hermione was able to reason with herself that it was rather unlikely that dating an artist would lead anywhere, let alone a muggle artist.

Ginny told her that she would be expecting a girl and that everything was going well; the baby was perfectly healthy and growing at an expected rate. She griped about how Draco forced her to see a Mediwitch twice weekly to ensure the health of his baby. As the Mediwitch would come to her, she wasn't too bothered, but the coddling was most annoying.

Two weeks into her vacation and Hermione still hadn't figured out where her life was going. Instead, she had allowed herself to become severely lazy, waking up every day after noon and going to sleep before midnight. She had become nearly addicted to sleep and was worried that being an early riser was out of the question.

Knowing she only had two more weeks of true freedom (not that Draco wouldn't grant her more if she wanted), she decided to stop being so lazy and finally get down to business with working out the efficiency charm. Waking up at eight in the morning proved to be easier than she thought it would be. Since she spent the majority of her break reading up on texts to help her enact the charm, she thought it finally time to start testing out wand movements that would produce the right effect.

In the past, she had experimented with charms in her experimentation labs at Draco's firm. They were large, secure, and had anti-noise, anti-explosive, anti-dangerous charms all over every surface. Because she didn't have immediate access to her labs, the second best thing she could do was create her own lab. As she never used the dining area, she shrunk the furniture and cleared out the room. Placing strict barriers around the walls and casting every protective charm she knew to protect the structure of the building, she began the process of developing the charm.

When developing charms, one thing was very sure, and that was that even though you may have a good idea of what will happen, you can never be too sure. When Hermione cast the charm after she figured out the precise wand movements, she was incredibly surprised to find that she was able to complete tasks nearly ten times faster than usual. Using the clock she conjured to gage the movement of time, it was almost as though she was literally slowing time down to a tenth of its usual length. In releasing the charm, Hermione was instantly aware that she had forgot one charm.

With a loud boom, the spell released causing much pain to her eardrums. The silence after the noise made her ears ring and she was instantly aware of the severe fatigue that she could only assume was an after-effect. She was sure that the entire building her the sound but was too tired to care. Going to her medicine cabinet, she grabbed a vial of strengthening solution and went back out to the sitting room, collapsing on the couch.

It wasn't even a second later that she heard the knocking at her door. She was so tempted to ignore it. She was exhausted. Gathering all the strength she had she walked to the door slowly. The least she could do was apologize for the loudness. She opened the door without looking through the peephole, sure that it was just a disgruntled neighbor. What she saw was more surprising.

"What the hell-Miss Granger?!" His voice was as dark and menacing as she remembered. She took in his appearance as he stood fuming before her. His hair was pulled back in a ponytail, grey hairs sprinkling near his temples. He wore a dark blue turtleneck shirt; so different from the teaching robes he used to wear. His skin was the same pale color she was familiar with, but he looked surprisingly young.

"Professor Snape." She deadpanned after the initially shock of seeing her ex-potions professor wore down. "Needless to say I'm surprised to see you." He looked like he was about to strangle her, but she stayed stock still, her face masking any emotions.

"What are you doing here, what was that noise, and why didn't you have the decency to cast a simple soundproofing charm? It destroyed my potion." She looked at him, reviewing the many circumstances involved with her happening to meet him while in Paris. It all came down to one person. Draco.

"Draco lent you a flat, didn't he?" She asked, some of the anger seeping into her voice. He looked at her skeptically, as though she was trying to play a trick on him. From where he was standing, he was looking down at her. She was just as short as he remembered, but much more womanly than the student he had taught ten years ago.

"That isn't your business. What are you doing here?"

"Vacationing." Her face was as impassive as he had ever seen it. Sometime in the last ten years, the girl had mastered the ability to control her emotions. Looking into her eyes, he also discovered that she had developed the ability to occlude. She had certainly grown up, not that he cared.

"And that awful noise that destroyed an experimental potion I had been developing the last year?" He glared daggers at him. He knew full well that he would be able to fix the potion with a few simple movements, but she did not. Maybe he could cause the girl, well woman, a little stress. She only glared at him.

"I apologize for that. I was just testing out a newly developed charm and did not anticipate that particular reaction." She was being particularly short with him and he found himself becoming slightly intrigued by how much she had changed since her know-it-all years. "As for your potion, I'm not completely dense. I'm sure you can resolve whatever occurred." She looked about ready to close the door on him.

"You blasted woman! Do you think it is okay to disrupt the entire building at nine in the morning?!" He continued to glare dagger at him. His hand was now positioned holding the door open to prevent her from closing it. "I've had peace and quiet for nine years before you came here. How long have you been here?"

"Excuse me, but that is none of your concern. Unless you would like me to help you rectify any problems my charm may have caused, perhaps you will accept my apology." She grabbed the door more firmly. He was still much stronger than him. "Leave." She said, her voice completely icy.

"I would ask the same of you." Without giving any warning, he turned around hastily. She slammed the door close with a thud. He walked down the stairs to his flat. Just after he was released he was offered the flat free of charge from his godson to get away from the wizarding world. As it was a nice flat and he didn't have very much money to spare anyway, he accepted the offer graciously and moved away as soon as he possibly could.

In less than an hour, he had discovered with a jolt just how long he had been gone. In the time he was gone, the bookish, annoying Gryffindor princess had turned into a full figured, entirely different woman. She was as expressionless than he was and nearly as cruel. He knew from his correspondence with Draco (blast the boy for sending the woman to live directly above him) that Miss Granger had been through her fair share of stress and he knew from reading the latest in academia that she had developed quite a few revolutionary things, as well as done a few things he was downright annoyed with. And to think, she was living directly above him.

He entered his flat and looked over to his labs where he knew his potion remained basically unharmed under the stasis charm and instead of instantly rectifying the situation, he went to the kitchens to get a bottle of scotch. It was early in the day, and yet it was completely necessary.

Hermione was absolutely pissed that Draco had sent her to Paris knowing full well that she would be living next to Severus Snape. He knew and he said absolutely nothing. He hadn't even warned her that she might run into him and it was surprise that two weeks into her vacation, she didn't.

Angry as hell and frustrated, Hermione immediately went to her bedroom and began the process of packing her belongings. There was no way she was going to stay anywhere near the sour Potions professor any longer. There was no way she was going to put herself into a position where someone could interfere with her life the way she knew Severus Snape to be possible.

In less than an hour, everything was packed and the flat was put back to normal. She glanced out the window once more, looking over the beautiful city that she hadn't explored at all the entire two weeks she had lived here. Without hesitation, she stepped into the floo, announcing her destination, and landed in her own flat, calmness once again settling over her. The familiarity of her flat was what she needed most right now, and despite the interruption, she was still absolutely exhausted from the efficiency charm. She was out before her head even hit the pillow.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four:

Hermione woke the next day fully clothed, in her own bedroom, on her own bed, and thoroughly confused for a moment. She quickly went through the events that had occurred in the last twenty-four hours and then remembered what led her to where she was. It sort of felt like she had a hangover, but not quite. Her head was aching, but she had complete mental clarity, which was different from her usual hangovers. She definitely needed to work on the efficiency charm to eliminate these side effects, as the point of the charm was to make things easier and not more exhausting.

She immediately went to her medicine cabinet to take a large dose of pain potion. Tylenol wouldn't help with this much pain. Other than the side effects, the charm had worked wonderfully and she was rather thrilled by the prospects. She assumed that such a charm, in the wrong hands, would also be rather dangerous, but at this point, she had no intention of letting anyone else know about her project. It was too special. As she downed the potion and hopped in the shower, she even considered obliviating the memory from Draco. She was rather pissed at him.

He had knowingly sent her to Paris to live in the flat above his beloved godfather. For all she knew, he and Ginny had probably done it on purpose to play some ridiculous sort of matchmaking game, or perhaps Snape had angered Draco and he wanted to get revenge. Nothing like sending the annoying know-it-all to ruin the bat of the dungeons year. She didn't know Draco's motives, but words did not describe the contempt she had for Draco. He'd be lucky if she didn't hex him as soon as she saw him.

Of course she wouldn't actually hex him. She'd probably not even say one bad thing to him. She wouldn't give him the pleasure of seeing her overreact. Seeing as she came home from her vacation early though, Draco better have something for her to do, otherwise she will be quite annoyed. Pulling on a lovely dark red sleeveless top that fitted her like a glove and a leather pencil skirt that hit just above the knee, she dressed herself to be her most intimidating. She accessorized with a thick silver bracelet and high heels. She knew she looked far too sexy for a trip to the office, but that was the plan.

With her hair pulled back elegantly and thick, shining curls waving down her back, she apparated to the firm where she knew Draco to currently be. She walked to his office and knocked politely.

"Come in." He said lazily. He was probably going over finances again. He was a little obsessive about finances which was probably a good thing considering how much wealth he actually controlled. She opened the door slowly and walked into the room with her head held high. "Hermione! What-"

"You sent me to live in the flat above Severus Snape." She said, rage flaring inside her, but her voice deceptively impassive.

"Oh."

"Yes, Draco. 'Oh'." She loved to mimic his sometimes-childish behavior. "Did you think that I'd spend a month in Paris without ever meeting your dear old godfather?"

"Actually, I'd thought you'd have already met him." Hermione glared at him. "Ginny and I assumed that you and he were having a secret affair and had chosen not to tell us about it."

"You're kidding." She deadpanned, the sneer on her face incredibly similar to the Potion Professors'.

"Well, how else did you go so long without so much as bumping into each other?" Hermione took a seat on top of Draco's desk. She knew that one of the only things that ever intimidated him was a woman who showed power over him.

"Let me get this straight, Draco. You tried to set me up with Severus Snape." He looked at her and visibly paled, his Adams apple bobbing up and down.

"I d-don't know. I thought you'd enjoy Paris. I thought that if you met Severus and were on even footing with him in a casual setting.... well, maybe you'd find something in common. Either that, or I thought you'd ignore each other completely and avoid leaving the flat."

"Severus Snape and I will never get along, Draco." He looked at her skeptically.

"I disagree. You are far too alike."

"Why? Why not suggest a flat in Hamburg or Venice? Was there any good reason to specifically send me to Paris, other than to subject me to the horror that is my childhood nightmare of a teacher?" Draco laughed out loud at her admission.

"I'm sorry, 'Mione." She rolled her eyes and stood from the desk pacing the office. Draco styled just about everything with the same modernist perspective. Everything in the room screamed sleek.

"Whatever. I'm back early so I suggest you give me something to do with my time."

"Well, then, you are going to have a problem. I don't have anything for you to do and I absolutely refuse to try and find stuff for you to do when you agreed to a month long vacation and you've only used up two weeks." She was outright glaring at him now and he felt a little frightened. He reflexively reached for his wand, hoping that she wouldn't actually hex him as it seemed she was about to do.

"Fine."

"Fine?" He asked in a small voice that shook. She quirked her eyebrow at him.

"I'm going home. Tell Ginny I'm back and to come by if she's bored at all."

"Will do, though she and Ron are busy as hell getting that shop back in order. If you didn't hear, there was a robbery a few days back."

"A robbery? I thought that never happened. Weren't there wards set up?"

"Yeah, but apparently they were breeched. The insurance they had on the place paid for the loss and any damages, but the place is kind of a mess and last I knew, they had half a store to replace."

"Well, tell Ginny I'll help in whatever way possible then. Have her owl me later."

"Okay." Hermione nodded and left the room feeling at least a little better. She got her revenge on Draco by making him squirm and still had a couple weeks left of vacation, which, she was surprised to find, made her happy. She made the quiet walk back to her home in silent inquiry, going over some of the things that Draco had told her.

It wasn't really likely that in any situation, her and Severus Snape could truly get along. Their bad history was far too extensive. She was surprised to find, however, that she was intrigued by the mere idea of having a civil relationship with the man of mystery. She was practically obsessed with him as a student. It wasn't a crush by any means, but she spent a good deal of her time at Hogwarts trying to figure the man out and never did she get any clue to his true personality. Or maybe he truly was an impossible git.

When she entered her flat about twenty minutes later, she regretted walking home in the heels she used to intimidate Draco. She immediately sat down and pulled them off, cursing herself for forgetting to cast a cushioning charm on the bottom of them. Most of her shoes already had the charms as they were gifts from Ron and Ginny's shop, but those shoes had been purchased while on vacation in Milan when her parents were still alive. A good pair of tall black stilettos never went out of style.

She was surprised to note a letter sitting on her kitchen counter. Quickly scanning it for curses, jinxes or hexes, she picked up the letter to see that it was addressed to her from Hogwarts. Ripping the letter open in confusion she was startled by what she read.

'_Dear Miss Granger,_

_I am writing to inquire if you'd be interested in interviewing for the Charms Professor position at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Professor Flitwick has suggested your name personally as among one of the more qualified individuals to be assigned the post following his retirement._

_As you are currently under employ at Malfoy Industries, I understand if you were not interested, however, I would encourage you to consider it as an option. You were an excellent student, and while you are still quite young, the staff at Hogwarts, as well as the Board of Directors considers you to be an excellent choice for the position._

_I have you scheduled for a meeting Tuesday, the 1st of July at 2:00pm. If you are not interested, please send an owl to cancel._

_Thank you,_

_Minerva McGonagall'_

She looked around the flat briefly, wondering if perhaps this was some sort of strange and twisted joke until she realized that she was just as alone as she expected herself to be. She never would have guessed that she would be contacted about a position at Hogwarts. She also believed that Filius was far too young to be retiring just yet, but perhaps he had other ideas of what he wanted to do with his life too.

Hermione knew that she would at least attend a meeting with Professor McGonagall, if not just to spend an afternoon at Hogwarts, than to spend an afternoon with one of her favorite professors. The question was if she was truly considering teaching at Hogwarts. That was when she remembered that she hadn't had a nightmare since she left for vacation.

Her nightmares had been particularly frustrating. It took a look a really long time for her to feel better about losing her parents. She never really did get to a point where she was able to feel good, but she was no longer sleeping less than three hours a night and eating next to nothing either. Getting over her parents' death had been one of the hardest things she had ever done. It was worse than losing Harry. It was worse than having friends die in the war. Losing her parents had devastated her more than she could have believed possible. But it got better after a year or so. And then she started dreaming again.

In every dream, the same situation occurred. Her parents sat her down at the dining room table to talk to her, the same way they used to when she was still attending Hogwarts. They would call them the 'planning sessions'. She had planning sessions with her parents since as long as she remembered. They would discuss her goals and wishes, what she hoped to accomplish with her life. She had a planning session the summer before she went to Hogwarts, she had a planning session the summer after she took her NEWTs and got accepted into the Charms apprenticeship. Her parents had taught her very early on to be a goal-oriented person.

However, in the nightmares, she would sit down at the planning sessions and instead of her parents accepting her goals and plans and being happy with her progress, they criticized her to no end about her lack of ambition. It was a little known fact to the world that Hermione had very nearly been sorted into Slytherin House. In fact, the only house that wasn't considered was Hufflepuff. But the sorting hat made a very real point by asserting that Slytherin would suit her drive to achieve great things.

In her nightmares, she would allow her parents to torment her and she would agree with them, always leading to the point that she was going nowhere with her life and she needed to re-route her goals. When Hermione would wake she would be drenched in sweat and entirely unconfident. She truly believed that she was no longer ambitious enough in her goals and since she no longer had parents to help her through her decisions, she fretted endlessly about her career of choice.

She was sure that Draco was right. Even if she hadn't set very good goals, her parents had always been proud and supported her, even when she had decided to remove their memories. They had agreed that it was the best possible solution, even if she could not again retrieve the memories. They had always been unbelievably fond of their daughter and trusted her to a fault.

Placing the letter back down onto the cold countertop, Hermione began to feel, for the first time in a long time, excited about something. She had the opportunity to make a change in her life. She had always had that opportunity, of course, but now the opportunity was much easier to consider, as it was much easier to accomplish.

* * *

Hermione woke up bright and early the next day to prepare herself for the interview with McGonagall. She wasn't completely sure how she felt about changing career paths just yet and was going to discuss it with McGonagall and Draco before she made any serious decisions, but she was excited by the prospect.

She took a long shower and dressed in a classy set of business robes. She pulled out a piece of parchment and a pen and briefly went over the possible questions McGonagall might ask her as well as her answers over a steaming pot of Earl Grey tea. It didn't take long for time to pass and before she knew it, she was apparating to Hogwarts gates and heading up to the Headmistress's office where she was greeted kindly by her favorite professor.

"Good afternoon, Hermione. I'm so happy you've agreed to an interview." Hermione smiled as she stepped into the office and accepted a seat in the large high back chair across from the Headmistress's desk.

"It is always best to keep one's options open. Thank you for considering me for the position."

"Oh, no problem dear. Filius is absolutely positive you would make an excellent teacher and I'm absolutely sure you'd be an excellent addition to the staff. Tell me dear, what have you been up to the last six years. It seems like you were here just last year. Time flies by so quickly." Hermione smiled. The professor she remembered had not changed one bit since she had seen her last. Her face was just as kind as her posture was strict.

"Well, as you know, I've been working at Malfoy Industries developing charms used to disable or deactivate dark hexes and curses placed on objects, texts, or residences, as well as neutralizing anti-muggle warding, but I've also taken on quite a few extra projects in my spare time."

"Yes, Filius has regaled me of your ability to impress him in the field of Charms many times. Would you be willing to explain a few particular charms you've developed?" Hermione brightened, happy with the chance to share her accomplishment with someone who would appreciate them.

"Well, when I first graduated the apprenticeship, I developed a charm to sustain human life in steady state during times of need. This charm was created to help in stopping the spread of curses and hexes. Many patients come in with severe curse or hex damage and if the curses and hexes are caught early and the charm is utilized, the patient will have fewer complications and injuries.

"Shortly following that, I was commissioned by St. Mungos to do research into developing charms to aid in the in the treatment of snake wounds and I spent a couple months training mediwizards the technique, as it is incredibly finicky.

"I've worked to develop charms for the auror department as well and I coached a sector of the auror department in the new intensive detecting charms I've developed to allow the aurors to know exactly the spell utilized on specific objects, as well as the presence of magic in any specific area."

"My dear! That is impressive." Hermione smiled lightly at the praise. "I admit that I do not keep up much with academia as my attention is more often focused on running the school, but I am surprised you had the time to do all of this, especially with all that you've been through."

Hermione instantly felt uncomfortable as she always did whenever the topic of her parents came up. Nobody officially states that is what he or she is talking about, but she knows. She knew that the whole bloody wizarding world had learned about her parents' demise and it used to bother her that they would even pretend to care about her muggle parents. Now however, it was like getting nudged out of place. A little jolting, but not overly bothersome.

"I'm a bit of a workaholic." She smiled, deflecting the concern as best she could and Minerva went on to detail the position and the plans for the person hired to fulfill the role.

Professor Flitwick wished to retire in order to pursue a bit of charm development as he hadn't had the opportunity thus far in his life and had been waiting nearly eighty years to do so. The person hired would initially be an assistant teacher to Professor Flitwick, taking half of his classes while he ascertained their abilities as a teacher. The position, for all intents and purposes, was a trial teaching position for whoever was accepted. Should they be able and willing to return, they would be hired with tenure and full benefits and depending upon their House affiliations, they may be designated head of house (currently Professor McGonagall was still head of Gryffindor house, a title she wished to be rid of as soon as possible).

McGonagall had explained that Hermione was the primary person being sought for the position and should she accept the offer, she would be hired and given pay similar to that she was recieving from Malfoy, which was far more than she could expect in a teaching job. McGonagall had also mentioned that if she accepted she would be the interim Head of Gryffindor House.

Hogwarts was going through a rough patch as far as hiring goes. Professor Slughorn had been hoping to retire for the last five years, but had consented to stay until a fit replacement was found and the Defense Against the Dark Arts position, while no longer cursed, was still plagued by poor teachers. Hogwarts needed fresh young minds and that is part of what put Hermione at the top of the list for the Charms position.

She was dismissed after the two shared a cup of tea and a bit of small talk. She left the office feeling happy about the opportunity. She had told Professor McGonagall that she could not accept immediately, but that she would give the position serious consideration and get back to her within a couple of days about her decision. She apparated straight home and set about making a list of pros and cons for changing careers. She would pop by the office tomorrow and discuss with Draco a little bit about his plans for her in the future.

* * *

A/N: Thanks for reading. I hope you are enjoying my story. Reviews make me smile. ^_^


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five:

Hermione was surprised to find through listing the different pro and cons of each position that she was already favoring leaving Malfoy Industries before having talked to Draco. The things she would be losing by being a professor at Hogwarts included things such as the loss of loads of free time to experiment and develop new charms. While this would have swayed her from teaching at Hogwarts six years ago when all she wanted to do was develop things to help the wizarding world and prove her place among the many well-known wizards in academia, now, however, she felt she had already done that.

She knew that there were plenty of charms left in the world to develop and plenty of things that she could do to aid the wizarding world, but now that she had done all of that, being a teaching seemed even more important than ever. Teaching students and imparting her knowledge with them could possibly lead to more charms developments than she was able to accomplish by herself, and it was that realization that pushed her to feel a career change was almost necessary.

Last night, she was surprised to find that her dreams still hadn't returned and she was able to relax and fall asleep very easy despite the nervousness of making a career change. Today, she prepared herself to have a very important conversation with her employer. She never really thought of Draco as her boss. In all actuality, he treated her much more like a partner in his business ventures. He allowed her the freedom to suggest and implement anything she wanted and he allowed her to also decide not to do something he asked of her. Her working relationship with Draco was entirely ideal and for the longest time, so was her work at Malfoy Industries.

"Come in," he answered and she walked in, holding her head high. He noted with some surprise the bounce in her step. Either she had another way to get revenge on him for sending her to Paris with Severus, or she had interesting news to talk about.

"Good morning, Draco, I've have some important things to talk with you about."

"Oh, good. I was afraid your peppiness was a result of finding another way to torture me." She smirked at her friend. It was rather strange still how the two had become friends since their time at Hogwarts, but he was just as much of her friend as anyone had ever been.

"Actually, I'm here to talk about my job here."

"What about it, exactly? You do brilliant work, you get brilliant pay; have you come to some conclusions about your future."

"I think I have. Minerva McGonagall contacted me recently." He looked at her questioningly, slightly surprised. He definitely wasn't expecting it. "She offered me a job teaching Charms." He smiled.

"Hermione, that is wonderful news. I'm sure you would be a very good charms professor." Hermione looked at him strangely, trying to discern what he meant.

"What do you think though, about me leaving?"

"To be honest, I've been wondering about what your future here would be like. You've been here for a long time and you've developed some wicked techniques that really help the goals of the charms division here. However, I think that we've sort of reached a point where the ability to detect and remove dark magic from wizarding objects is the highest is will really get. Right now, the only jobs we really have to do is implement all the things you've developed."

"I've been thinking the same. I've made about five lists of the pros and cons for being a teacher or staying here, and I've come to the conclusion that I've done about all that I can do here and you aren't technically paying me to take on charity research projects."

"You are right. I pay you a load because you've been a partner in this company since the beginning and you've helped me reach my goals, but now that we are there already, I don't need you for the same work anymore."

"I think I'd really like to teach." She said, her voice slightly more timid than before. She was sure that Draco would support her whatever her choice would be, but she was also concerned that he would be upset with her for leaving.

"I think you should teach. Just think of all the bratty children you could influence." He had a look of mock seriousness on his face that made her laugh. He was easily her favorite person in the world.

"Thank you so much for making me feel so comfortable with this decision, Draco. You have no idea how much it means to me." Draco looked at her, surprised that he was given so much information about her emotions. He cherished everything she was willing to share with him, but since her parents had died, she was a much more private person.

"I love you like a sister, Hermione. It means a lot to me to see you happy. How have your nightmares been?" She smiled lovingly in his direction.

"They've stopped. I've been sleeping well, thanks. How is Ginny?"

"Lovely as ever, still working overtime at the shop, but I'm making her take it easy. The baby is healthy."

"That's wonderful." Hermione looked at her watch before standing up. "Well, I think I am a little excited to let Minerva know by decision and I also wanted to work on some things, considering I will likely not have this much free time ever again."

"Hermione, now that things are settled and you plan to go to Hogwarts, I think that we've got everything in order here, so you can take the rest of the summer off. I'll pay you. You never took vacations and I owe you some vacation pay anyway."

"Thanks, I will try to enjoy the time off."

Hermione returned to her apartment feeling especially light. She was excited to have a new direction in life. As soon as she slipped her shoes off, she pulled out a pen and parchment and wrote the letter to Minerva, accepting the position. The rest of the day she spent going over a few texts in preparation for some efficiency charm work.

At about nine o'clock at night when she was sitting in her oversized chair going over notes, she heard a tap at the window. She was surprised, but she assumed it was a letter from McGonagall telling her she was delighted and maybe explaining a little of what would happen in the future. She fed the owl some biscuits before he flew off and gently opened up the envelope. She was amazed by what she saw.

'_Dear Hermione,_

_I'm well. I miss you very much. I hope all is well,_

_Harry'_

The letter came by owl post. Harry never sent by owl post, as it was more detectable. She immediately cursed herself for letting the owl leave before opening the letter, as that could have been her ticket to finding Harry, but judging by the letter, more than ever, it seemed as though he was almost willing to come and find her.

Never before had he mentioned missing her. His letters were usually just as short, commenting briefly about his condition and telling her that he does not wish to be found, but this letter did not even state that. Her hopes were all aflutter when she pulled out another parchment and began the first letter to her once-best friend that she had written in a very long time.

'_Dear Harry,_

_I miss you very much as well. Please let me meet you again. Where can I find you?_

_Hermione_'

She sent the letter thinking for once that maybe she would get a reply; maybe he would come home finally. She had hope that she would see her friend for the first time in almost ten years and she didn't know what to do about it. She didn't know how to react.

Hermione went to bed that and dreamed about the Final Battle for the first time in years. She didn't dream of the dead faces of her friends or the emptiness she saw in Harry's eyes before she left. Instead, she dreamed a hopeful dream in which everything went as she expected it would when she was still young and naïve. She dreamed that her parents were alive and her best friend was still here. She dreamed that she was married with children. Somehow waking up the next day was worse than waking up from a nightmare. When she received no reply from Harry and her letter was returned, she felt more devastated by his loss that she ever had before.

* * *

The rest of the summer went by in a blaze of research. Hermione spent every waking hour pouring over texts to help her forget the sadness she felt from losing Harry all over again. She poured over potions texts to find a means of countering the fatigue the efficiency charm produced. Performing the charm was exhausting. No matter what potion she used, the fatigue remained which made her think that it wasn't merely physical exhaustion, but magical exhaustion and there weren't potions that helped with a wizards magical stores.

The only thing Hermione could do now with the charm was find a way to make it less complicated. Many charms caused exhaustion by the amount of magic needed to cast them. The Fidelius Charm was one of them. She didn't quite know how possible it would be to make the efficiency charm simpler, but was willing to take the rest of the summer to figure it all out.

McGonagall sent her an owl near the end of July informing her that she would need to report to Hogwarts on August 12th to be introduced as part of the staff and also to get the swing of being at Hogwarts before the students arrived. As she wasn't making any progress with the efficiency charm and she was running out of things to do to keep her from getting upset about the situation with Harry, she was happy to find herself heading back to Hogwarts so soon.

She decided to get rid of her flat when she went to Hogwarts. With the money she got from selling it, her bank account was much larger than she needed. She decided to splurge a little at the bookstore, as well as pick up some things to work on a few potions projects while at Hogwarts, but gave a very sizable donation to St. Mungo's to fund some more research similar to what she had been doing for the last few years.

When she arrived at Hogwarts with all of her things packed away and stuffed into her slightly enlarged clutch purse, she was surprised at how easy it was for her to walk straight to the Headmistress's office without paying any attention to her surroundings and how natural it felt to be here. She knocked lightly at the headmistress's office, excited to meet the fellow professors and was shocked by the first face she saw.

Images of her encounter with the man when she was in Paris immediately popped into her head, anger taking over her very quickly, as she stared at the dark haired man sitting in the chair across the room from her.

"Good afternoon, Hermione, welcome back to Hogwarts." Minerva greeted her with such kindness that the anger she felt towards the man was pushed far back. It didn't show in her composure just how much seeing him had shocked her, but she really was surprised and angry.

"Of course you wouldn't tell me of _this_ addition to the Staff, Minerva. She is not nearly mature enough for this position." Snape said, his cold voice washing over her, making her feel insignificant. She was determined not to let him get a rise out of her, whatever happened.

"Be quiet, Severus. I don't have to inform you of my every decision. I suggest you suck up your pride and get used to teaching alongside your rather brilliant former-student. You were younger than her when you were first hired." If possible, the man glared more evilly at her. She thought that she noticed his face heating up. She took the seat located as far away from him, which also happened to be next to her Charms Master.

"Dear Hermione, it is so good to hear from you again!" Flitwick beamed, his small hand holding hers affectionately. "I've read of your accomplishments over the years and I am so pleased. Such a wonderful student you were and such a brilliant teacher you will be!" She was incredibly humbled by such praise for the man who taught her a lot about how to truly experiment in Charms.

"Indeed you are correct, Filius. Hermione will make a great instructor." Minerva smiled fondly. Hermione felt a little uncomfortable in the room and smiled shyly.

"If you have all had enough buttering the girl up, perhaps we can get on to business." Everyone in the room turned to the glare at the sour potions professor, but surprisingly Hermione agreed with him. Naturally she didn't show it.

"Be quiet, Severus." Minerva admonished. The two of them had a strange relationship with each other that revolved around insulting each other and making bets over house affiliations. In the past, they seemed to be the most notable rivals amongst the professors at Hogwarts. The loss of Albus Dumbledore at Severus' hands created all sorts of issues for their relationship, but when the war played itself out, they were happy to find themselves back to bantering.

"Alright," Minerva began the meeting, "We are still missing a new Professor, but I promised to let him introduce himself when he was comfortable. I might as well get started." She went on to detail the way the school was going to be run this year, focusing her intentions on her newest goal: lessening inter-house rivalries. She believed that it would be incredibly difficult for the students to get along with one another if the staff was unable to, most of her glares were sent in Severus' direction.

There were going to be three new professors this school year and next year, they would be hiring yet another new professor, so it was important for the professors to set up strong relations with each other for the school to be successful. Hermione wondered briefly who the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor would be. It had to be someone who wanted a bit of privacy but she didn't really know anybody who fit the bill.

When the meeting was dismissed she was excited to get to the rooms she was assigned. They would be halfway between Gryffindor common rooms and the Charms corridor due to her new position as Head of Gryffindor. Severus sneered unkindly when it was announced, as he was the newly appointed Head of Slytherin as well. Minerva explained that further details would be discussed in a private meeting between the Heads. She dismissed the Professors and Hermione gathered herself quickly, excited about seeing her rooms for the first time. As an apprentice her rooms were rather small, containing the necessities, but she severely doubted Professors would receive the same treatment.

Opening the door to leave, Hermione was knocked down by the quickly entering person. This person had piercing green eyes and the expression of a deer hit in the headlights when he saw the person he had pushed to the ground. Hermione stared unbelievingly into this familiar stranger's eyes.

"Hi, Harry."


End file.
